The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.

Loading ...

Loading ...

This story appears in the {{article.article.magazine.pretty_date}} issue of {{article.article.magazine.pubName}}. Subscribe

Has it come to this? Sweden, that notorious bastion of socialism, is a better place to do business than the United States. So it has, at least according to the World Economic Forum (WEF), the outfit that puts on the big annual shindig for the rich and powerful in Davos, Switzerland.

Two years ago, the United States were still number one in the WEF’s eyes. Then last year, Switzerland took over the top spot. Now both Sweden and Singapore have vaulted ahead.

The WEF surveyed 13,500 people in 139 countries to establish their rankings. The U.S. has lost ground due to both a “weakening of public and private institutions,” say the data crunchers. “Lingering concerns about the state of its financial markets” don’t help.

Sweden, by contrast, has “the world’s most transparent and efficient public institutions, with very low levels of corruption and undue influence.” Which loosely translated from wonk-speak sounds like, “You’re better off dealing with honest socialists than crony capitalists.”

In any event, here are the WEF’s top 10...

As if to underscore the WEF’s assessment...and knock out another support column for the “recovery”...the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book is losing some of its lily-white sheen. The period from mid-July through the end of August brought “widespread signs of a deceleration.” Of the Fed’s 12 regional banks...

Two report healthy expansion (Boston and Cleveland)

Five report moderate expansion

Five report mixed or slowing conditions.

Oddly, the stock market seemed to like this report, rising steadily after its release. Perhaps traders are buying into the Fed’s “New Goldilocks” thesis – something we identified back in April.